cravate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kʁa.vat/^[1]

Forms

cravate f (plural cravates)^[1]

Etymology

It is the same word as the ethnic name Cravate “Croat”, recorded from 1573 as an adjective and later replaced by croate.^[2][3][4] Cravate is an adaptation either of Slavic Serbo-Croatian Hrvat (“Croat”) or of dialectal German Krawat, while croate was taken from standard German Kroate.^[2][3][5][6] The name passed to the band of cloth that Croatian horsemen in French service wore round their necks;^[3][7][8] Ménage dated the fashion to 1636, during the German wars.^[3]

From French come Italian cravatta, Spanish corbata and English cravat.^[3][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first meant a Croatian mercenary in the French light cavalry (Voiture, before 1648), whence the regiment of Royal-Cravate under Louis XIV.^[2][5] The neckband sense is recorded about 1649–1651, at first sometimes masculine.^[5][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The garment replaced the falling collar about 1670; it was wound twice round the neck with lace-trimmed ends,^[2] and after the battle of Steenkerque (1692) it became the fashion to wear it loosely “à la Steinkerque”.^[2] The modern necktie took shape about 1907.^[2][5] The cavalry sense also gave a name to a sturdy horse of the Croatian breed (1678).^[2][5]

Slang and familiar uses play on something round the neck: a wrestling hold round the neck (1877),^[2] cravate de chanvre “the hangman's rope”,^[8] and s'en jeter un derrière la cravate “to knock back a drink”.^[1][7]

Timeline

• 1573 – Cravate “Croat” as an adjective.^[2]
• before 1648 – Voiture uses it of Croatian cavalrymen.^[2][5]
• 1649 – First record as a neckband.^[5][4]
• 1666 – The Royal-Cravate regiment.^[2]
• 1678 – A horse of the Croatian breed.^[2][5]
• 1823 – The verb cravater.^[3]
• 1907 – The modern necktie sense in Larousse.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A necktie.^[7][10]
2. A band of cloth worn round the neck; a cravat.^[7][8]
3. (wrestling) A headlock.^[1][2]
4. A ribbon tied to a flagstaff below the flag.^[8][10]
5. (Quebec) A canoe stuck on a rock.^[1]

Word family

• cravater

Related words

• croate
• English cravat

Usage notes

The older masculine un cravate, a Croatian cavalryman or a horse of Croatian breed, is historical only.^[11][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 395b
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
12. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale